First Things First
you shall love the Lord your God
Announcements for October 30, 2021:
A memorial Mass for our deceased loved ones will be held Monday, November 1st at 5:00pm in the church.
This is your last chance to buy tickets for our Annual Gala. Join us November 6th for a wonderful celebration of OLMC's educational ministry.
The Diocesan Ministries Appeal is in full swing. Check out Bishop Sweeney's appeal video, and click here to give today.
Visit our Parishioner Portal for up-to-date announcements.
Dear Saints,
We've got another dynamite Gospel passage this weekend.
One of the scribes asks Jesus, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Now, there are said to be 613 commandments in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah), so Jesus had a lot to choose from. But that's not where he goes. His response is remarkable:
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
What Jesus offers as the first commandment is more of a prayer than a moral precept.
That's precisely the point. In our worship, in our prayer, in our praise, in our love, we mark out the very center of our moral universe. Who takes central spot in our lives? Is it God? Is it me? Is it my family or friends? Is it money, my job, some pleasure or comfort?
It makes a difference. A world of difference, in fact.
Only when God is the absolute center of our lives can everything else find its proper place. Love orders all, and proper order yields peace.
Put anything else at the center of your universe? Disharmony. Chaos. Disorder.
But isn't it hard to love God with all your heart? To live totally for his purposes? No. Not hard, but impossible. Except for the fact that Jesus does it and, by his own holy Spirit at work in us, makes possible the path he himself pioneers.
Talk about Good News!
I love you, my friends, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
The Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ and the Pharisees
Ernst Zimmerman, ca.1900